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(GSMNP press release) Great Smoky
Mountains National Park officials announced that a pavement
preservation project will begin Tuesday, February 19 on Little River
Road. A thin pavement overlay will be applied to the entire length of
the 16.5-mile roadway between Sugarlands Visitor Center to the
Townsend Wye along with associated pull-offs and parking lots and the
1.5-mile Elkmont Road leading to the campground. The project should
be completed by September 20, 2019, though work schedules are subject
to revision as needed for inclement weather.

Visitors traveling on Little River Road
should expect weekday, single-lane closures and traffic delays from
February 19 through June 14 and again from August 19 through
September 20. Single-lane closures are permitted from 7:00 a.m. on
Mondays through 12:00 p.m. on Fridays. The lane closures will be
managed with flagging operations. Parking areas and pull-offs will be
closed intermittently for pavement application. To better accommodate
visitors during periods of high visitation, no lane closures will be
allowed during peak summer months, weekends, or holidays including
the week before and after Easter from April 12 through April 26.

The Federal Highway Administration
awarded the $ 6.5 million paving contract to GC Works, Inc. Road work
will include the application of a thin lift overlay to preserve the
life of the pavement. Potholes will be patched before application of
the pavement overlay.

In addition to this work, the park is
also overseeing tree removal work along various roadways in the park
including Little River Road between Sugarlands Visitor Center and
Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area, Elkmont Road, Cherokee Orchard Road,
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, and the Gatlinburg Bypass. Motorists
should expect delays due to single-lane closures associated with this
work through April.

For more information about temporary
road closures, please visit the park website at www.nps.gov/grsm or
follow SmokiesRoadsNPS on Twitter.

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Jim Harris has been WYSH's News & Sports Director since 2000.
In addition to reporting local news, he is the play-by-play voice for Clinton High School football, boys' and girls' basketball and baseball.
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Jim lives in Clinton with his wife Kelly and daughter Carolina, his mother-in-law and cats Lucius and Oliver.